Executive Education

Sample Programs

Select Companies

Harvard Business School works with a select group of companies, all of which are committed—starting at the CEO level—to strengthening the leadership capacity of both their managers/executives and their organizations. Companies also share the desire to develop a long-term, multifaceted relationship with the School. Custom programs have been developed and conducted for a diverse range of clients/organizations, including well-established companies, high-growth businesses, and major nonprofits.

Formidable Challenges

HBS custom programs can be developed to help executives build capabilities for addressing virtually any management dilemma, whether it pertains to organizational leadership, change leadership, customer management, service excellence, innovation, technology, competitive strategies, or other areas of concern. No matter the issues at hand, client companies can attest to the power of a value-adding educational partnership with HBS.

Industry Profiles

Consumer Products

After a large, leading consumer products company consolidated most of its North American activities under one leadership, the chairman and CEO wanted to build on a previous relationship and work with Harvard Business School in creating a platform and process for introducing the new management strategy to the top 300 business leaders. A two-month development process, which involved discussions with key members of the management team, idea generation, design, feedback, and refinement, culminated in a powerful program to provide leadership and facilitate implementation of the change initiative. The core themes—integration management, company values, leadership and change management, and action planning—share the common objective of rallying all of the leaders in support of the company's new direction.

The entire rollout includes six two and a half-day sessions over a two-year period, with 50 to 60 leaders attending each. In addition to engaging leaders in case studies, brief lectures, and large-group discussions, the HBS faculty team creates a workshop-oriented environment to encourage open dialogue and enable leaders to collaborate on applying the program's concepts, tools, and approaches to their specific challenges. The chairman/CEO's involvement in all program activities signals top-level commitment and the significance of this investment to develop leaders poised to make the change happen.

By reinforcing the entire change initiative, the company is accelerating a common sense of direction among its leaders. Individuals who have experienced the program say they now have a "real" understanding of the company's new strategy and values, as well as greater insight about what they should, can, and, ultimately, will do to implement action ideas as a business team. Based on the program's effectiveness, HBS is developing a case study that spotlights the company's strategic and organizational progress, and some leaders are planning to attend open-enrollment Executive Education programs that address related issues.

Energy

Several years ago one of the world's largest industrial companies approached Harvard Business School because it was changing its corporate strategy to become a global leader in natural gas and electricity. The company wanted a broad-based executive development program for its senior leaders to support this strategy change. The firm researched and interviewed several business schools to determine which offered the overall approach and capabilities that best matched its needs, ultimately choosing to partner with HBS. HBS faculty worked with top company leaders to understand the organization's key issues, and then developed a program to address these critical factors facing the organization: managing in regulated and deregulated environments; corporate governance and the role of the corporate center and the business units; and leadership, culture and values.

In 2002 the first cohort of 50 senior executives participated in the program on the HBS campus. The program included not only HBS faculty, but also industry experts, and faculty from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard to provide as comprehensive a view of the issues as possible. A second cohort of executives participated in the program in 2003, and follow-on cohorts are planned in subsequent years.

The relationship between the firm and HBS has extended and deepened with the development of additional programs and services. Selected company leaders participated in a customized course on finance for senior executives, and many have attended key open enrollment programs on the HBS campus. A case has been written about the firm and is used in both the custom program and in the MBA program at HBS.

Financial Services

A large financial services institution asked Harvard Business School to develop an executive leadership program for its top 250 executives. The firm, which had a history of strong earnings, needed to find new ways to drive growth in an increasingly competitive global environment. The CEO hoped to increase the firm's strategic dexterity by enhancing participants' ability to drive business performance, as well as boost creativity and innovation.

Following a collaborative needs assessment process with the company, HBS created a program that focused on three key themes: (1) strategic thinking—analyzing the market, determining strategic direction, and sustaining success over time in the face of competitive threats; (2) service excellence—nurturing loyal customers and setting the marketplace standard for quality and value; and (3) leadership—helping participants understand the role of leadership and leadership styles in creating effective organizations.

The initial program was conducted over a span of 12 months with cohorts of 30-40 participants in each session. The 5-day curriculum includes a customized case study based on a recent acquisition and integration completed by the company, and a "lifeline" exercise focused on key people and formative events in participants' lives.

Both the participants and the CEO are benefiting from key interactions throughout the program, building relationships and opening channels of communication. Participants report significant gains in strategic insight and leadership skill as a result of the program, as well as a substantively enhanced network with their peers. This first program is now being extended to reach the next level of management, and a second-generation program is in design for the original Top 250 group.

Information Technology

One of the largest information technology and services companies in the world decided in 2000 to revamp its strategic planning process, placing individual general managers in charge of the work and challenging them to link strategy directly to specific issues, and to execution action plans. The firm's Corporate Strategy Senior VP asked Harvard Business School to create a program to help develop the strategic leadership skills of the firm's senior executives as they embarked on this new process.

HBS developed a curriculum geared directly to the firm's new approach to strategy and laid out a plan to rapidly drive new learning across the organization. Over the last three years over 60 teams and 1000 business executives from the firm have participated in these strategic leadership forums. Each program opens with a day on strategy, focusing on marketplace insight and business design. The following days are dedicated to understanding change and innovation and applying the lessons learned to the firm's own issues. Participants spend a total of 17 hours in team breakouts applying what they learned to the key business issues central to their team's success.

The use of technology-based learning tools in the program has enabled the firm to extend and deepen the learning to an entire generation of leaders who now embrace the strategy planning process and focus fully on successful execution. The Corporate Strategy leadership group believes that the powerful combination of executive education and real-time application has accelerated learning, enabling leaders to have a common understanding of strategy, to approach issues with the same structured process, and to communicate using the same vocabulary.

Investment Firm

As one of the cornerstones of its ongoing management development program, a major investment institution looked to Harvard Business School to develop a customized strategic leadership program that would help senior executives develop the business decision-making and leadership skills required for success.

The firm's CFO served as the Executive Sponsor of the program and worked with HBS faculty to create a curriculum designed to build competencies in two critical areas: executing strategy; and delivering business results. Participants gained knowledge and built their skills at the beginning of the 6-day program, then began to apply their learning to a real-life initiative within the firm. Project teams were assigned the task of developing a recommendation on how to implement the initiative to maximize value for customers and the corporation. Team and individual performance on this exercise, as well as others throughout the week, were assessed by HBS faculty coaches and company HR staff, leading to the creation of an individualized development plan for each participant.

With the successful completion of the first program, this leadership development initiative is now being tailored to other major business units in the company.

Pharmaceutical

Harvard Business School has been working with a large international pharmaceutical firm since the mid-1990's when company leaders and HBS faculty planned the firm's first executive forum. The program was designed to help the organization come together, creating alignment and an effective company culture after a major merger.

With a strong affiliation between the two organizations firmly cemented, HBS has continued to work closely with the firm in the years since. In 2001 the company CFO identified a need to educate and expand the perspective of managers in the finance and business planning functions of the firm. HBS faculty worked with the CFO and his team to develop a program that would help managers in these roles operate more like CFO's, driving business goals and contributing to the management of the business in partnership with their unit's general manager. A parallel program for non-financial managers, introducing the key elements of corporate finance, was also introduced.

A second executive forum, targeted to senior executives drawn from each of the company's major operating groups, focused on helping the company accelerate growth. Key themes included exploration of advances in technology pertinent to the firm's businesses, partnerships and alliances. Six cohorts of executives through 2001 and 2002 participated in the program. Specific action learning projects incorporated into the program allowed executives to develop and test new business ideas that have subsequently been brought forward at the business unit or corporate level for further analysis and seed funding.

A third generation executive forum has recently been launched with a focus on leadership challenges and execution excellence facing the company and its managers. The CEO continues to participate personally in every program session.

Venture Capital/Private Equity

As part of its commitment to the ongoing success of its portfolio companies, a later-stage venture capital firm selected Harvard Business School to create an education and networking forum to help company owners and management teams achieve their strategic and financial goals. This opportunity to view business through the lens of general management is intended to strengthen the leadership capacity of these high-caliber portfolio companies.

The program concentrates on the processes that are central to portfolio companies and on their highest-priority business issues as identified in a survey of company CEOs. The entrepreneurial and multidisciplinary expertise of the HBS faculty team provides a sound understanding of what is involved in launching and building new ventures, as well as an approach for managing these opportunities over time.

To date, two three-day modules have been held, with each attended by 30 to 40 CEOs and senior leaders from select portfolio companies. Focusing on different stages within the entrepreneurial lifecycle, the theme of the second module—profitable growth and scaling—built upon the first, which covered assessing opportunities and building new business models. A possible third program would address the next stage of external change and internal adaptation.

The high-energy, high-involvement atmosphere fosters learning on three levels—individual, small group, and classroom. Through case studies, interactive presentations, and informal group discussions, participants learn from the faculty and one another as they explore new ideas, share innovations and strategies, and develop invaluable peer networks. These executives emphasize the forum's practical and tangible value in helping them gain fresh insights into their businesses, interact with peers who are experiencing similar challenges, and focus on strategic implementation.

The result is win-win. Portfolio companies develop highly effective management teams for enhanced competitiveness, while the sponsoring venture capital firm reaps the subsequent rewards of continued business growth and greater shareholder value. HBS faculty also benefit from exposure to new case development opportunities with entrepreneurial companies.